Even though there are hundreds of delicious dishes available nowadays, including Western, Korean, American, British, and Russian cuisine, for Vietnamese people, regardless of their social class, it is difficult to live without bamboo shoots, vermicelli, wood ear mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms to make traditional dishes such as spring rolls, bamboo shoot soup, and vermicelli soup to offer to ancestors.
The end of the year is the time when bamboo shoots, vermicelli, and wood ear mushrooms are highly regarded and they are sold everywhere, from supermarkets, online shopping platforms, to local markets. Especially during this time, many types of vermicelli and bamboo shoots are advertised as specialties from mountainous regions.
However, with an abundance of products available, many people do not know how to choose the right ones.
Especially for vermicelli, bamboo shoots, and wood ear mushrooms, they are delicious but also belong to a group of foods with a high risk of containing toxins, so you need to be extra careful when selecting them.
Tips for choosing good shiitake mushrooms
When choosing shiitake mushrooms, you should observe the color of the mushrooms. The mushrooms should be light brown or tan, and you should avoid red, purple, or black mushrooms. Especially, the inner surface of the mushrooms should have a uniform yellow, brown, or white color, indicating that the mushrooms are fresh. Dried shiitake mushrooms should have a pleasant aroma, while those with a faint scent or strange odor indicate poor quality. Shiitake mushrooms without aroma or with a dark color have been stored for a long time or dried improperly, resulting in a loss of flavor. Good shiitake mushrooms should be dry and crumble when lightly squeezed, indicating that they are crisp and not too dry. On the other hand, if the mushrooms are soft, they may be damp.
Tips for choosing good vermicelli
Vermicelli made from pure starch will have a certain level of chewiness without the need for industrial additives. Authentic vermicelli should have a milky black color without impurities. White vermicelli means it has been bleached. When purchasing vermicelli, you should closely examine the strands, and if they break easily, they will become soft quickly. Milky vermicelli, as if mixed with rice grains, will not taste as good. The strands of vermicelli should be long, straight, and translucent without cloudiness, and they should have a slightly dark color.
When purchasing vermicelli, you should smell it to see if it has a smell of dampness or any strange odor. Untreated vermicelli is grayish but translucent. Vermicelli that is white or slightly yellow has been bleached or is not made from pure starch.
Tips for choosing good dried bamboo shoots without sulfur
Dried bamboo shoots are an indispensable ingredient, but they have a high risk of being treated with sulfur during the drying process. Therefore, when buying bamboo shoots, you should pay attention to the color first. Naturally dried bamboo shoots that have not been treated with sulfur will have a natural yellow or pale yellow color. If the bamboo shoots are dark yellow or bright yellow, it indicates the presence of sulfur treatment, which is harmful to consumers.
You can also smell the bamboo shoots. If there is no pungent odor, it means that no chemicals have been added. Bamboo shoots with a pungent odor and strange yellow color indicate the use of sulfur to prevent mold. Bamboo shoots that are dull and black are also not good.
You can observe the nodes of the bamboo shoots. If the distance between the nodes is short, it indicates that the bamboo shoots are fresh and not old. On the other hand, if the distance between the nodes is long, it indicates that the bamboo shoots are old, and when cooked, they will be tough and fibrous. A good bamboo shoot should be thick, as it will become crunchy and delicious when cooked. Thin bamboo shoots mean that they are old, tough, and fibrous.
Avoid buying pre-cut bamboo shoots as they often mix old and low-quality bamboo shoots.
Bamboo shoots are delicious but have a high risk of toxicity. Therefore, even if you choose good bamboo shoots, you still need to soak them in water and boil them multiple times before cooking.
Tips for choosing good wood ear mushrooms that are not soft
Natural dried wood ear mushrooms and wild wood ear mushrooms are better than cultivated wood ear mushrooms. When buying wood ear mushrooms, you should hold them and squeeze them lightly. If they bounce back, it means they are good mushrooms, while if they break easily, it indicates that they are overly dried and not good mushrooms.
You should choose wood ear mushrooms with larger, thicker, and darker caps compared to thinner and lighter ones. Slimy or broken caps that stick together indicate poor quality mushrooms that may still be young.
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